The present invention is concerned with an agricultural machine, and more particularly with an agricultural machine of the type having a plurality of agricultural tools which must be capable of being adjusted relative to one another.
There are agricultural machines, for example machines which are used for tending root crops, or generally for crops which are planted in rows or furrows, in which the machine must have a plurality of agricultural tools, for example one for each row. Usually, such machines are of a type which can be connected with a tractor, although they could, of course, be fixedly mounted on the tractor per se. Conventionally, this type of agricultural machine has three tools which are offset relative to one another, two of them being spaced from one another transversely of the direction in which the machine moves in operation, and a third tool being located substantially midway between these tools and being located either forwardly of them or rearwardly, as seen with respect to the advancement of the machine. These tools must each be individually removably connected with the machine in order to make it possible to exchange the individual tool in the event of wear or damage. Moreover, the tools must be capable of being adjusted with reference to one another, so that the machine can be accommodated for different spacing between adjacent furrows, or to permit an adjustment of the spacing between the adjacent tools in accordance with the particular root crop being tended. Heretofore, each of the tools in these prior-art machines was separately mounted in the machine for adjustment with reference to the other tools. This, of course, required a substantial amount of labor when adjustments had to be carried out, or when one or more of the tools had to be removed for replacement, inspection or the like, or when a different type of tool had to be substituted. Aside from the labor-intensive and time-consuming character of such manipulations, there was, of course, the further fact that during the manipulations the machine could not be used.